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The power to tax is the power to destroy.

John Marshall

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John Marshall
Age: 79 †
Born: 1755
Born: September 24
Died: 1835
Died: July 6
Diplomat
Former Chief Justice Of The United States
Judge
Jurist
Lawyer
Politician
Slaveholder
Taxation
Communism
Libertarian
Destroy
Taxes
Inspirational
Power
Libertarianism

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It is the peculiar province of the legislature to prescribe general rules for the government of society the application of those rules to individuals in society would seem to be the duty of other departments.
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This government is acknowledged by all, to be one of enumerated powers.
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No political dreamer was ever wild enough to think of breaking down the lines which separate the States and compounding the American people into one common mass.
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Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional.
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To obtain a just compromise, concession must not only mutual-it must be equal also....There can be no hope that either will yield more than it gets in return.
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My gift of John Marshall to the people of the United States was the proudest act of my life. There is no act of my life on which I reflect with more pleasure. I have given to my country a judge equal to a Hole, Holt, or a Mansfield.
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The government of the Union, then, ... is, emphatically, and truly, a government of the people. In form and in substance it emanates from them. Its powers are granted by them, and are to be exercised directly on them, and for their benefit.
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No one imagines that a law professing to tax will be permitted to destroy.
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The peculiar circumstances of the moment may render a measure more or less wise, but cannot render it more or less constitutional.
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Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos.
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The federal government is acknowledged by all to be one of enumerated powers. The principle, that it can exercise only the powers granted to it . . . is now universally admitted.
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The power to tax involves the power to destroy...the power to destroy may defeat and render useless the power to create.
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It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is...If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each...This is of the very essence of judicial duty.
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No principle of general law is more universally acknowledged, than the perfect equality of nations. Russia and Geneva have equal rights. It results from this equality, that no one can rightfully impose a rule on another....As no nation can prescribe a rule for others, none can make a law of nations.
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In a free government almost all other rights would become worthless if the government possessed power over the private fortune of every citizen.
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I fear we may live to see another revolution.
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An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation.
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A corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of law.
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The most lively fancy aided by the strongest description cannot equal the reality of the opera.
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Seldom has a battle, in which greater numbers were not engaged, been so important in its consequences as that of Cowpens.
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